5 Ways to Find New Music Online

These days, we always have our music. Whether at work, at the gym, or on-the-go – we’re always plugged in and listening. I myself can hardly leave the house without my headphones – I’m lost without them. Is that weird? Probably. The fact is, listening to the same playlist day in and day out can get old fast. It’s easy to find yourself stuck with a stale playlist that just doesn’t pump you up like it should.

So, what’s the solution? Well, luckily there’s this thing out there called the Internet. For a long time now it’s been the best way to share, upload, download and discover new music.

The more we listen, the more important it’s become to know where new music lives and to have a go-to resource to learn more. Here are 5 ways that have worked for me:

1. Internet streaming sites

Streaming sites showed up in a massive wave and gave us a great resource to listen to free music online. Sites like 8tracks, Pandora (US only), Last.fm, SoundCloud, & GrooveShark all share a focus on new music discovery and allow the user freedom to mix, curate, and share music as they please.

2. Twitter

Twitter’s been getting a bit of a bad rap lately, but I’m here to say that I still think it can be a useful resource. You’ve just got to follow the right people, and filter through all the junk. I follow bands that I’m interested in and it’s the best way to hear about their new music releases. There are also music publications that are built around promoting and sharing new music. I’m often clicking links shared by one of these sites to check out a new music video or release.

Twitter also allows you to search bands or music based on keywords. Use a hashtag or the search bar to find out what people are saying about music you’re interested in. If there’s something good out there, people are sure to be talking about it.

3. Reddit

For those who are a little more invested in the Internet (AKA nerds like me), forums are a great resource to find user submitted content. These are communities built around sharing content with others. The best content rises to the top of the page so you know you’re sure to find something people like.

For those who don’t use Reddit, it’s simply a massive forum which is divided into various categories and interests. I’ve listed below a few links to different subreddits that I’ve found to be a guaranteed method of finding something you’ll like. A subreddit is simply the term used for a specific page that curates content pertaining to that specific interest.

I think this one’s pretty self-explanatory. Most of the major social media platforms have incorporated some sort of music feature. (See Facebook’s integration of Apple Music & Spotify Music Stories) As most of us already use social media very regularly, this is a great way to learn about new music at the same time. Connect your music to your social platforms and get engaged with your friends!

5. Spotify’s Discover Weekly

The browse and discover features are easily my most used methods of finding new music. Thanks to the beautiful people at Spotify, there are specific playlists catered to our listening patterns. Turns out there’s a pretty intricate system behind all this musical discovery. Spotify has an algorithm that tracks our listening patterns, identifies similar songs that coordinate with our “taste profile” and they’re brought to us via a personalized playlist. (Qz.com) They’re essentially doing the work of searching for music for us! What could be better?

Feel free to leave a comment if you have any more suggestions about great ways to find music. Thanks for reading!